Hampshire group: 70% of care homes could close their doors

Hampshire Care Association (HCA) says as many as 70% of private care homes could be obliged to close if the proposed National Required Standards are implemented as they are set down in the Government’s consultation paper “Fit for the Future”. HCA chairman Ronnie Cairnduff said the association had conducted a survey of 200 care homes to see what effect the proposed changes to the rules would have. “The survey results, and the massive closure of homes it has forecast, has shocked social services chiefs in Hampshire,” Mr Cairnduff said. “The main bone of contention with the Government is over proposed rules on issues like double room occupancy and room sizes – and these changes are just as likely to have a similar dramatic effect on council-run homes, too.” The HCA survey results echoed the national survey carried out by Caring Times early last year. More than 300 care homes from around the UK responded to that survey, the results of which suggested that close to half of all private care homes would face closure